BATON ROUGE — The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will come to Bernie Moore Track Stadium on the campus of LSU for the first time in 15 years this spring, and if Track and Field News is on the money, both the Tigers and Lady Tigers will be in the mix to win a national crown in front of the hometown fans.
In its January edition, Track and Field News selected the LSU men’s track and field team No.2 behind only defending NCAA Outdoor champion Tennessee. Track and Field News views the NCAA Outdoor meet as a two-way battle between last year’s indoor and outdoor champion, giving the nod to Tennessee with 64 points ahead of LSU’s 59. Clemson was selected a distant third with 35 points.
The Lady Tigers will gun for their 13th title in 16 years this spring and have been selected fourth in the preseason women’s poll. USC was picked to defend its national title ahead of South Carolina and UCLA.
High expectations will be placed on several of LSU’s returning All-Americans, as the Tigers have been picked to win five events, while sophomore Muna Lee is the preseason pick to win the women’s 200-meter title.
Track and Field News selected returning NCAA triple jump champion Walter Davis to defend his title while adding the long jump this year. Alleyne Francique has been picked to win the 400-meter dash after finishing second a year ago.
Claston Bernard has been picked to win the decathlon title that eluded him a year ago when he suffered a hamstring injury in the 100-meter dash. Bernard was the NCAA runner-up in 2000.
The Tigers have also been picked to win the 4×400-meter relay title, returning all four members of last year’s NCAA Indoor champion squad.
The NCAA Outdoor Championships will be held from May 29- June 1, marking the fourth time the event has come to Baton Rouge. LSU begins its indoor season on Jan. 18 at the SEC Six-Way in Fayetteville, Ark. Both squads will return home on Jan. 25-26 for the Purple Tiger Invitational at the Carl Maddox Field House.
Track and Field News NCAA Outdoor Preseason Picks
Men
1, Tennessee, 64. 2, LSU, 59. 3, Clemson, 35. 4, Arkansas, 30. 5, SMU, 29.
Women
1, USC, 72. 2, South Carolina, 65. 3, UCLA, 64. 4, LSU, 46. 5, Stanford, 44.